Rather than letting our negativity get the better of us, we could acknowledge that right now we feel like a piece of shit and not be squeamish about taking a good look.

Study the Buddha's teaching which is present in every moment.

The movement of love is what creates the beauty in our lives.

As long as our orientation is toward perfection or success, we will never learn about unconditional friendship with ourselves, nor will we find compassion.

The practice of Dharma is a constant battle within oneself.

When you do something, you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.

The way to overcome anger is to be too busy being kind to have time to be angry.

The color of the mountains is Buddha's body; the sound of running water is his great speech.

Faith is not a commodity that you either have or don't have - it is an inner quality that unfolds as we learn to trust our own deepest experience.

When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.

Whatever precious jewel there is in the heavenly worlds, there is nothing comparable to one who is awakened.

Many people think excitement is happiness... But when you are excited you are not peaceful. True happiness is based on peace.

When the heart is still, it can be kind. When the mind is still, it can see clearly.

Neither from itself nor from another, nor from both, nor without a cause, does anything whatever, anywhere arise.

The Buddha taught us to leave alone the things that don't lead to awakening.

The practice is simply this: keep coming back to your breath during the day. This will give your mind a steadiness and your life a balance.

When you see forms or hear sounds fully engaging body-and-mind, you intuit dharma intimately.

Impermanence, suffering, and non-self are not philosophical concepts but realities to be directly perceived through mindfulness practice.

The Noble Eightfold Path is not a path of mere intellectual understanding but a path of practice, of inner transformation.

If you want to know your past life, look into your present condition; if you want to know your future life, look into your present actions.

Instead of having a deep understanding of the teaching, we need a strong confidence in our teaching, which says that originally we have Buddha nature.

We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.

The dharma is not in the books. If you want to find the dharma, look in your mind.

Whoever told you that practice and enlightenment are separate?

The mind is the source of all happiness and the source of all suffering.

The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments.

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.

In the spring, hundreds of flowers; in autumn, a harvest moon; in the summer, a refreshing breeze; in winter, snow will accompany you. If useless things do not hang in your mind, any season is a good season for you.

The Buddha never taught a sectarian religion; he taught Dhamma - the way to liberation - which is universal.

The more we understand impermanence, the more we understand that we can't hold on to anything.

Your own treasure house contains everything you need; why search outside?

Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.

Zen in its essence is the art of seeing into the nature of one's own being, and it points the way from bondage to freedom.